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Interview with The Young Artists’ Collective - Tumblr Community, June-July 2011

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The Young Artists’ Collective own description sounds like this: “This is a blog about art. This is a blog about passion. This is a blog about creativity. It’s about a community. It’s about recognition, originality, skepticism. It’s about freedom of expression, fearlessness, and dreams. Style, hunger, and emotion. It’s about life. It’s about us, and it’s about you.

We are all artists.

Love thy art.”

We wanted to know what challenges this young artists (like us) meet along their way in becoming a strong collective and in finding themselves through art. We asked why is art important to them.

Emily Ford : Asking why art is important to me is like asking why is air important to me.  A little dramatic I know,  but I can’t imagine my life -or any life without creativity and art. It is called visual art for a reason, because we literally see it everywhere. I see it in a well made piece of clothing, in the patterns drops of water make on the floor as I leave the shower, even in the graphics used to create this website.
Design, craftsmanship, color, and creativity can be found in anything and I can’t escape it even if I tried.  The question is so very broad, but to me art is important because I live, communicate and understand concepts visually; therefore, without art I would struggle hopelessly through my days.  In addition, the creative process itself is a way for me to express and release my subconscious concerns.  It is very much a therapeutic process that I use to connect my works of art with viewers. I also involve myself with others in my community through art making, so this creating is a way to connect, inspire, and benefit myself and community.
Art gives me sanity, happiness, connectivity, meaning, freedom, discipline, and so much more.  Like I said, I breathe it in daily. It is in my blood and I can’t live without it.


Chelsea Sherman : “The imagination encircles the world.” I have a very strong connection to this belief, so much in fact that a (personalized) version of the phrase is tattooed on my arm. The idea that our imagination, where creativity and artwork expand from tiny specs of thought to explosions of color, connects every human being (because we are all artists!) on an incredibly intricate, passionate level. To me, ‘world’ could be taken literally or to mean your life, and in my world imagination threads art and vitality together, tailoring them inseparable. Creativity flows through my veins; without it I cannot live.

More importantly, it’s everywhere! Art is the piquant spice that flicks your taste bud, the hangnail that you can’t pick, the crisp crackling an ice cube makes when it trampolines into a glass of lemonade. It is something freshly observed, something extracted from the everyday and twisted with paintbrushes and cheap pens. Writing a short story or painting an oil piece from watching a boy drop a popsicle stick in the park last Tuesday. That to me is art. Everything. And the last time that I checked, everything was pretty fucking important.


Tim Boyle: There’s a story of a Russian dancer, who when asked to explain the meaning of her dance, responded, “If I could say it in so many words, do you think I should take the very great trouble of dancing it?” I think that’s a salient point in regards to art as a whole. To flourish as humans, we must communicate with one another. And yet so often we find that there are parts of our lives we struggle to express.

From the mundane to the grandiose, we have thoughts, feelings, and instincts which we can’t seem to define yet art let’s us communicate to each other. And because of that, art is an essential part of my life. It’s importance rests in its ability to communicate those things which can’t be expressed directly. And without it, I’d know so much less about myself, let alone anyone else.


Tim Hughes : Many artists say that the process of creating is why they view art as important.  This is valid no doubt, but I think the after effects of creation is where the importance of art lies.  People react to art.  They will experience feelings and emotions that they may or may not have experienced before.  They may become happy or excited.  They may have sadness or depression.  But the most important thing is that they are feeling. 
When art forces the viewer into the act of feeling emotion, the viewer is reminded of their existence.  People’s lives typically revolve around a routine in which we become accustomed to, and comfortable with.  We forget what it’s like to feel something real.  Art lets us feel.  It breaks the monotonous cycle of our daily routine.  It reminds us that we are really alive.  In a world without art, we would lose an element of our emotional essence.

The Young Artists’ Collective consists in the following:
- Tim Hughes - Creator and Editor
- Chelsea Sherman
- Tim Boyle
- Andrew Olanoff
- Layne Dixon
- Emily Ford
- Anthony Smith

Ceramics Now Magazine: You say creativity, freedom of expression, originality and recognition are values that you and The Young Artists’ Collective respect. Can you tell us more about the project? What are your goals?

Tim Hughes , Creator and Editor of The Young Artists’ Collective:
Making your way in the art industry is a tough, stressful thing to do.  I’ve been painting for a couple years now and have had relative success in doing so, but I’ve also experienced the low blows that the art world can throw.  Though discouraging, these setbacks can only be taken in stride.  In attempting to do so, I’ve developed a philosophy: I think that the best way to make it in the art world is to involve and immerse your self in the art as much as possible.  Thus, the Young Artist’s Collective was born.  It’s one more tool at our disposal.  One more open road to take.  One more stage to grace. 
The Collective is made up of artist’s of different natures and pasts.  Our experience spans many mediums from painting to writing to graphic design to philosophy.  We are a small group but are growing slowly.  We may not post in great quantity but will always try to post in great quality.  We want to share our artistic experience and findings with each other and the rest of the world.  We want artist’s that we love to be discovered and loved by others too.  This can only help in building a community that consists of artists who have each other’s back. 
The hope is to have a successful art blog.  This success won’t be measured in popularity, number of views, monetary gain or reputation.  It will be measured in what we as a community will gain from this forum.  Through the Collective’s and the community’s posts, insights and philosophies, we will learn from each other.  We want to encourage each other’s creativity and celebrate our freedom to create.  We will inspire and motivate each other.  That’s the whole point of the Collective: to attempt to survive and tame the beast that is the art world… as a group.

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Interview by Vasi Hirdo - Editor of Ceramics Now Magazine with help from Miruna Pria.